" "Sweet, or you'll get sour!" "

This is how it will soon sound again on many a doorstep on October 31, when ghoulishly dressed-up children go from house to house collecting Halloween sweets. Glowing pumpkins decorate many a home alongside ghosts, witches and skeletons. You can also make your own decorations for this festival. You can find beautiful craft ideas here. But before we start with the Halloween crafts, let's take a brief look at the history:

The origins - it wasn't always so much fun

The origins of the festival go back to an ancient Celtic custom. The night before All Saints' Day was something special. Many believed that souls returned on that night. The world of the dead and the world of the living seemed to merge briefly. In order not to enter the realm of the dead, scary masks ensured that the living could not distinguish themselves from the dead. There are many myths surrounding the origins of this phenomenon. In the end, it is certainly a mixture of many traditions. The first settlers in the USA naturally cultivated these old customs of their former homeland. This also included the night before All Saints' Day.

Family on Halloween

Over the centuries, the whole thing developed into a gruesome, beautiful festival and eventually a real hype spread to Europe. Since the late 1990s, modern Halloween has been regarded as a holiday in many parts of Europe and is particularly popular with children and young adults.

Decorating for the big spooky festival

Crafting for Halloween inspires young and old alike. If you are still looking for some really great craft ideas, then take a look below for a little inspiration. Orange, black and white are definitely the dominant colors when it comes to suitable decorations.

Spooky garlands for the Halloween party

Let's start with a simple garland, which you can add to and expand as you wish. The little ones in particular can help you wonderfully here. This time, however, it should not be particularly bright and colorful, but of course in the appropriate colors for the occasion.

So choose the wooden beads in orange, black and white. When it comes to shape, you can of course also use lentil beads and different sizes in addition to the classic wooden beads. This creates beautiful accents.

String the beads

Lay out the beads and string chains of different lengths. The different lengths will look much more lively later on. Use these great chains as basic elements for the garlands.

Make more decorations for the garlands

Now it's up to your imagination. Make a few more elements to give the garland a spooky touch. Halloween crafting definitely includes spiders and bats, which can be integrated almost perfectly into the garland and are also easy to make.

More decorations for the garland craft

Making spiders

Most people are creeped out by these creatures. This explains the popularity of the spooky festival. The younger the children are, the cuter you should make the Halloween decorations. For the spiders, you will need craft wire, small balls, old black socks and a few white beads. Take the balls and slip them over the socks. Pull it tight and knot it at the end. Cut off the rest and put it to one side. Shorten the craft wire to pieces of the same length so that you can use them as legs later. Wrap the leftover sock around the craft wire.

A little hot glue provides the necessary hold.

Now insert the legs, three on each side, into the ball. Simply use white wooden beads as eyes for the little spiders. If desired, thread a thin thread through the fabric to attach the spider to the garland.

Making little bats

Alongside the pumpkin, bats are one of the most popular motifs when it comes to craft ideas for Halloween. You can make little bats from mumblebees and craft wire in just a few steps. A template can be made quickly. Take sturdy paper or cardboard and draw a simple silhouette. You can find ideas everywhere.

If you like, you can cut the nut to your desired size beforehand and then place the template on top. Transfer the outline and cut out the bat. To stabilize it, simply thread the thin craft wire into the wings and the head section. A thin thread is also used here for hanging.

Tip: These new elements can be perfectly integrated into the garland.

Otherwise, these are simply great craft ideas for children if you are hosting a Halloween party, for example.

Making cool spooky decorations - you can't do it without a pumpkin

What really shouldn't be missing on Halloween? Exactly, the famous pumpkin. When it comes to craft ideas for children, there are many ways to create beautiful decorations with this vegetable. Carving funny grimaces is something that even small children can do. The only requirement is that you support the children. Before you start with the knife, the pumpkin needs to be hollowed out. The little ones will help you with this! Now take a sheet of paper and draw a few faces together that could fit on the pumpkin.

Scary decorations with a pumpkin

Mini pumpkins and the simplest possible shapes are suitable for small children, as briefly explained in the example below:

• triangles for the eyes
• a circle for the nose
• and a line for the mouth

If you feel like it, you can of course carve several pumpkins in different sizes. Some have ended up carving a whole family of pumpkins. Now all that's missing is the light. While real candles were sometimes used, the harmless LED candles are now gradually replacing them.

Of course, this has the advantage that it can be a bit windy on the evening of the spooky night and the light will still not go out.

Glowing ghosts

Flickering ghosts are always a real eye-catcher and should not be missed at this party. You usually have everything you need in the house. A few old, disused jars, paper, glue and scissors.

• Cut the paper so that it sticks out over the edge of the glass and can be glued all the way around the glass.
• Cut out a few spikes in the top edge of the paper and a few eyes. Even small children can do this. Now simply stick the paper onto the glass and place a tea light inside.
• In addition to ghosts, you can also vary here. Orange paper, for example, can serve as the basis for a glass pumpkin, which you could paint accordingly.

The younger the children are, the cuter the craft ideas for Halloween should be. A smiling face for the ghost and the pumpkin will quickly take the scare away. Craft in good time for the spooky festival so that you have enough time to decorate.